PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins seemed like they were on the edge of getting healthy. So much for that.

Evgeni Malkin, the seventh-leading scorer in the NHL despite already missing 11 games, will miss 2-3 weeks with a foot injury, coach Dan Bylsma said on Tuesday. If he's out three weeks, he'll essentially miss the remainder of the regular season.

Malkin hurt himself on a play at the net in his first shift of Pittsburgh's Sunday loss to the St. Louis Blues, Bylsma said.

Losing a player with 23 goals and 49 assists would be a problem for any team. It's an even bigger deal for the Penguins, who essentially have only two lines capable of generating offense. Malkin (53.6 percent) is one of six regular forwards who sees the Penguins take more than 50 percent of shot attempts at even strength.

"To get that news, it's disappointing," Bylsma said, noting that Malkin had played particularly well in the last few games. He also said that there's no indication that surgery is necessary.

Brandon Sutter, who may have been submarined by a lack of effective bottom-six wingers, moves up to the second line between James Neal and Jussi Jokinen. Heading into Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Coyotes, he had 11 goals and 13 assists on the season (1-2 in his last 10 games).

Sutter's most frequent linemates this season: Tanner Glass, Craig Adams, Chris Conner and Joe Vitale, among others. That could have something to do with his relative lack of production; on the season, Pittsburgh takes 42.0 percent of even-strength shot attempts when he's on the ice. In 104 minutes with Jokinen, that number jumps to 58.9 percent.

So, there's reason to think that while Sutter doesn't elevate his linemates, he doesn't drag them down, either. The next 10 games or so will be an interesting test case for that — though what happens when Malkin comes back is anyone's guess. Maybe Beau Bennett will be able to slot back in on Sutter's third line and provide the sort of play he needs to be successful.

"It's always tough keeping your consistency throughout the year, every game, night-in and night-out, but this is the time of year you want to peak. Hopefully, I've been getting better," Sutter said.

Marcel Goc, acquired at the trade deadline, will move from the fourth to the third line. Goc is typically a defensively-sound center who positively impacts puck possession at even strength.

Pittsburgh is second in the Eastern Conference, despite seeing their puck-possession numbers crater. Defensemen Paul Martin (hand) and Kris Letang (stroke) are working their way back toward full health, which could help remedy that.